Diamond on the Pedestal

In September 2016, in Antwerp, Belgium was held the grand opening of a new office building, which houses the headquarters of local Seaport Authority. The new Port House in Antwerp repurposes, renovates and extends a derelict fire station into a new headquarters for the port – bringing together the port’s 500 staff that previously worked in separate buildings around the city. The Port House designed by Zaha Hadid symbolizes the dynamic and innovative nature of the Port of Antwerp. The building is the workplace of 500 employees and a meeting place for the many international contacts of the Antwerp port community. The office building is at the Zaha Hadid plein 1, which has been named after architect Dame Zaha Hadid, who died unexpectedly a couple of months before completion of the building. 

With 12 km of docks, Antwerp is Europe’s second largest shipping port, serving 15,000 sea trade ships and 60,000 inland barges each year. Antwerp handles 26% of Europe’s container shipping, transporting more than 200 million tonnes of goods via the ocean-going vessels that call at the port and providing direct employment for over 60,000 people, including more than 8,000 port workers. Indirectly, the Port of Antwerp ensures about 150,000 jobs and has ambitious targets for future expansion to meet the continent’s growth and development over the next century.

In 2007, when the former 1990s offices of the Port of Antwerp had become too small, the port determined that relocation would enable its technical and administrative services to be housed together, providing new accommodation for about 500 staff. The port required a sustainable and future-proof workplace for its employees, representing its ethos and values in an ever-expanding local and international arena.

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Materials provided by ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS